Expressing the spirit of gratitude, gathering with loved ones, and enjoying festive food are deeply rooted in Brazilian culture. Therefore, it’s not surprising that many Brazilians in the U.S., including on the Vineyard, have adopted Thanksgiving.
Giving thanks is a central part of Thanksgiving for Pricila Vilaca, who moved to the Island in 2018: “I love the holiday so much. We don’t have it in Brazil. I’m a person who feels so grateful every day to be here in the U.S. — to have my American citizenship, To raise my kids here as a single mom while pursuing my bachelor’s in psychology. I have struggles, but when I put my blessings in my right hand and my challenges in my left, my blessings are winning more than my challenges. So Thanksgiving means a lot to me, to have a special day that I can just be grateful.”
Marcia Borges started celebrating Thanksgiving when she arrived in 2003. “All my Brazilian friends really love to celebrate it,” she says. “They all take time to embrace the meaning of Thanksgiving — sharing and offering things to others. In general, the Brazilian celebrations of Thanksgiving are bigger. They don’t just invite the family, but friends. You can go to a Brazilian celebration, and you can have 20 people.”
Borges notes as well, “Another difference is that Thanksgiving is not heavy with huge, existential debates between members in the dinner, or embedded in conflict, as we sometimes see in movies. It is often very joyful. Also, I think it is a way for Brazilian immigrants to feel part of American culture.”
Many Brazilians combine their own culinary traditions with traditional American dishes. Borges mentions several, including baião de dois, a Brazilian dish from the northeast region made with rice and beans. It often features savory ingredients like dried meat, sausage, and cheese, resulting in a hearty and flavorful one-pot meal. Borges adds, “There is also barbecue, roast pork, potato salad, or chicken salad (salpicão de frango), shredded chicken, carrots, celery, potatoes, and cabbage.”
Candida Oliveira, Bruno Oliveira, and their daughters Maria and Alice speak lovingly about their holiday feast. “Even though it’s an American holiday, it feels very Brazilian,” says Maria. They enjoy feijão tropeiro, a traditional and hearty Brazilian dish with eggs, beans, sausage, bacon, and farofa (seasoned cassava). The name means “cattleman’s beans,” and refers to its origin as a staple meal for the tropeiros (mule drivers or cattlemen) who traveled across Brazil during the colonial period. There is also baked chicken wrapped in bacon. Desserts always include passionfruit mousse and flan. Bruno Oliveira notes, “Everybody brings a dish of food and a dessert, which means a table full of desserts.”
Talking about Thanksgiving as a time to gather with family and give thanks, Maria reflects, “I think it’s really cool that we do it in our house. I get to mix my American side with my Brazilian side. Even though Thanksgiving is not originally from my culture, I think it’s important to do it. It brings us closer together.”